Prior to the conception and development of the present invention, VHS tapes and subsequently DVD's allowed consumers a way to legally purchase and own video content for playback when desired. Later, pay-per-view and on-demand services allowed users one-time access to video content at their convenience. Digital video recorders provide a means to record and store video and music content on either disks or hard drives. The Blu-ray disc format was developed to provide for high definition video recording, rewriting, and playback, along with the high capacity memory needed for the high definition. In this rapidly changing field of technology, it is difficult to predict what will be in fashion next.
Others have previously disclosed systems and methods for delivery of digital entertainment content. U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,107 discloses a remote information storage system with a plurality of remote subscribers linked by telephone lines and home computers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,941 discloses an audio information storage and playback apparatus focusing on subscription and on-demand audio programming.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,507,727 discloses a system for delivering digital content from a central server ordered by the user via any one of a number of communication devices, but there is no mention of long-term storage of user's previously purchased and uploaded content. U.S. Pat. No. 7,010,801 discloses a method for an interactive media services system to provide media to multiple users through a number of rental options. Once again, long-term storage of previously purchased and non-copyrighted material is not a part of this system.